WoW Custom Panel?

[bishmasterb]

I'm looking for some advice from WoW players on this.

My son is loves WoW, and I was thinking about building him a custom WoW control panel for Christmas; this would be connected up to a regular desktop PC. Is this a good idea, or is a keyboard really the best input device?

I know when I'm playing, I am always hitting the wrong keys, and I'm just thinking that a custom layout panel might do the trick. If so, what do you recommend for buttons? Standard arcade buttons seem to large.

I've seen the custom keyboards that can be purchased for various computer games, but they just seem cheap and poorly made.

Any ideas welcome.

[mrserv0n]

It would suck to play wow on a cp. A wow themed cp for a cabinet would be cool but you cant play wow on a cp

[PsychoAU]

Just buy him a basketball and tell him to go outside.  LOL

[bishmasterb]

It would suck to play wow on a cp. A wow themed cp for a cabinet would be cool but you cant play wow on a cp

Do you think that a standard keyboard is the best possible controller? Or could it be improved upon by customizing a layout specifically for WoW?

[Sardu]

He'll still need to type out message in chat, no?

I think the keyboard is the best thing for WoW, imo.  Too many hotkeys, etc.

[DeLuSioNal29]

How about a WoW themed arcade control panel? (World of Warcraft for all those that read this and wonder what "WoW" is)

That would look great as an overlay.  Perhaps it would be a way to get him into retro gaming?  He can use the keyboard and mouse when he plays WoW, but when he wants to play MAME, he connects the control panel.

Sounds cool to me.

~ DeLuSioNaL

[mrserv0n]

It would suck to play wow on a cp. A wow themed cp for a cabinet would be cool but you cant play wow on a cp

Do you think that a standard keyboard is the best possible controller? Or could it be improved upon by customizing a layout specifically for WoW?

I mean, im sure if he plays wow he has his keys the way he liked them already. Like you said they have that Z board which is probably kind of handy, but not really necessary. Maybe buy him Warhammer MMO , its kind of like wow and he probably have fun trying a new MMO , but you will have to fit the bill every month lol.

[bishmasterb]

Ok, a WoW themed desktop arcade controller it is. Now, off to design the thing...

[Ioargra]

A controller that did a bunch of the shortcut actions would be fine for WoW.

But the real problem with doing a WoW CP would be the fact that you still need a keyboard to type messages to others in the game

A CP designed around a keyboard with a bunch of buttons and lights around it might look kinda funky. But yeah, a separate custom controller like a belkin nostromo kinda thing might help in WoW.

BTW, I love my belkin nostromo n52 for games, AND for applications too. Its not just for games. I love how you can program each key with scripts or with toggle functions, or with always on functions, or with mouse buttons, etc. Its so freaking versatile, and its nice to have seperate profiles for various games too. So for instance, one application I have when I do document merges, it insists on putting the last piece first. So I'd have to click my mouse button 100 times to get it back to bottom of list (don't ask, it doesn't have mouse drag). With the nostromo, I just program a key to do 100 mouse clicks and bang every time I hit it it does it
One game I played had dual pistols that were semi automatic. I got tired of hitting the mouse button 30 times each time I wanted to drain the pistols. So I setup a button on the nostromo to rapid fire them as long as I held down a button on it. I tweaked the delay between each simulated mouse press so it was down to the minimum required. Once I used that my pistols were firing as fast as a machine gun
For the lego indiana/batman group of games I setup a key that I can hit that continually auto fires or auto whacks. I don't use it very often (feels almost like cheating lol) but sometimes there are crowds of annoying enemies in my way and I've beaten the level 5 times already without doing the trick and I just need to beat it again to get 100% completion so I'll use it.
And its definately not cheaply made, I've been pounding on mine for years and it still works just like it did when it was new. It also reduces strain on the wrist/hand as well. I typically play with the controller sitting on my lap, although it has a rubber bottom that would let you play on a desk without it slipping.
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=164714

[Kajoq]

HUGE 2nd on the Nostromo N52.

I used one when I played WoW and it made me about a billion times more deadly in PVP, and agro was never an issue while tanking.  Speedpad for the win

[extendedplayarcade]

I thought it was a "Whippum Out Wednesday" was the WoW we where talking about.

An Opie and Anthoney Arcade themed Cabinet would be kinda call.  But their mugs aren't much to look at but they are pretty funny radio hosts

B

[odysseyroc]

3rd for the Nostromo N52.

I don't game on the computer, but I can hardly use Photoshop at all anymore without it.

[leapinlew]

You could get him the WoW keyboard
http://www.amazon.com/Ideazon-Burning-Crusade-Limited-Keyset/dp/B000IZAN7C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1228257392&sr=8-1


Also, I would recommend a picture frame with your picture in it so he remembers what you look like.

[bishmasterb]

Also, I would recommend a picture frame with your picture in it so he remembers what you look like.

But of course...

[DaveMMR]

How about a WoW themed arcade control panel? (World of Warcraft for all those that read this and wonder what "WoW" is)

Ha.  I kept reading it as "Worlds of Wonder".  Teddy Ruxpin and Photon on the CP would have been awesome.   

[tommyinajar]

One more vote for Nostromo N52- Don't know how I ever got by without one. Plus you can use it for ANY game, not just WoW...

& All FPS are much improved !